Mikoto Yamaguchi and Yuki Sato’s Tomodachi Game manga has concluded its serialization with Chapter 127, published in the September issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine on Aug 8, 2024.
This marks the end of the series, which has been in publication for 10 and a half years since its debut in the January 2014 issue.
The final 26th volume of the manga will be released on Oct 8, 2024.
To commemorate the completion of the series, two major projects were featured in the September issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.
The first is a collection of congratulatory comments from the lead actors who portrayed the main character, Yuuichi Katagiri, in both the anime and the live-action drama Tomodachi Game R4.
Chiaki Kobayashi, who voiced Yuuichi in the anime, said, “Congratulations on the conclusion! Yuuichi is a character that demanded various expressions, and I still vividly remember the nervousness I felt during the recording sessions each week.”
Hidaka Ukisho, who played Yuuichi in the drama, commented, “Being introduced to Tomodachi Game and portraying Yuuichi is a treasure to me.“
The second project is a special interview between the original creator Mikoto Yamaguchi and the manga artist Yuki Sato. They discussed memorable episodes, their feelings leading up to the final chapter, and messages for the readers.
Tomodachi Game has achieved significant milestones during its run. The manga has surpassed a total circulation of 6 million copies.
In 2017, it was adapted into a live-action TV drama and film starring Ryo Yoshizawa. Additionally, an anime adaptation was released in 2022, featuring members from the idol groups Bishounen and HiHi Jets in a TV drama.
Tomodachi Game follows the story of high school student Yuuichi Katagiri, who values friendship above all else. He, along with his friends, gets entangled in a mysterious game designed to test their bonds and uncover their secrets.
MAL describes the plot of the manga as follows:
Yuuichi Katagiri has battled financial hardships his whole life but has learned to stay content and positive thanks to his close circle of friends. To keep a promise he made to them, Yuuichi saves up enough money to join them on the school trip. But when the gathered money mysteriously goes missing, suspicion falls on two of Yuuichi’s friends: Shiho Sawaragi and Makoto Shibe, who were in charge of collecting the payments. Although innocent, Shiho and Makoto take responsibility for the failure to protect the money when no one else comes forward.
A few days later, Yuuichi and his friends receive mysterious letters which trick each of them into meeting up. Upon arrival, they are ambushed and knocked unconscious. They wake up in a mysterious room in the presence of “Manabu-kun,” a character from a controversial children’s show that stopped airing due to its malicious content. He informs the group that one of them indirectly gathered them together in order to settle a large debt. They are to play a “friendship game”: a series of games that will test the strength of their bond and trust in each other. As the group’s faith wavers due to the growing number of secrets and betrayals, Yuuichi must figure out who of his “friends” he can actually trust and ultimately discover the identity of the traitor.
Source: Oricon news